Kansas Books

Although some background in constitutional law may be helpful, this book is very readable. Fisher is a thorough scholar, but he is also honest in giving vent to his frustration with Congress' cessation of war power in the modern evolution of Executive-Legislative relations.

This book is a great resource for historical and anecdotal information on the constitutional balance of power between the President and the Congress. Well-cited, and with a firm basis in constitutional logic and theory, Fisher develops a clear case that -although it does take on a diatribal flavor at times- does not require academic contortions to be demonstrated.

The criticism of the War Powers Act is very powerful, and needs to be understood more broadly in America. The unconstitutionality of the act is one reason it is never seriously invoked by the President or insisted upon by Congress, yet many people still refer to it as the crux for understanding the war powers balance between the Presidency and the Congress.

An excellent book for anyone interested in Constitutional allocation of power; useful for students, professors, and the concerned citizen.

Constitutional scholar Louis Fisher has done a magnificent job capturing the history of what he calls "presidential warmaking" -- that is, the tendency of presidents to usurp Congress's Constitutional war-making power. Fisher is not persuaded by claims advanced by modern presidents -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- that the Commander-in-Chief clause grants them broad discretionary war-making powers. His book is a long legal brief in favor of returning the war powers to the Congress.

At times, Fisher's belief in the rightness of his cause borders on the polemic. Though he recognizes that Congress has been complicit in presidential war-making, he reserves his harshest criticism for the presidents themselves. Arguably, however, it takes two to tango; if Congress actually *wanted* the war powers, it could take them "back." But as research shows, it is easier -- and therefore more palatable -- to sit on the sidelines, sniping at the president in case of failure or claiming a share of the credit after success.

No student of American politics or American foreign policy can plausibly claim to discuss the role of the executive branch in military/foreign policy without having digested Fisher's book.

Fisher's book is the strongest demonstration of how far we have allowed the original constitutional design of the war power to be destroyed that I've seen so far. Originally the war power was designed to avoid allowing a single person (i.e. the President) to decide whether we go to war; that was the duty of Congress. Fisher documents this fact and then examines two hundred years of American armed conflicts. Until the early 20th Century, with only minor deviations, it was understood that the President had to get authorization from Congress before entering armed conflicts. Only after WWII did the President claim the sole power to go to war, with Congress simply along for the ride. Fisher is nonpartisan in his criticism, attacking every President from Truman to Bush II, though he is supportive of Eisenhower's limited return to Congressional consultation. Fisher explains how practically every military action taking in this period was unconstitutional.

What I like most about this book is the fact that Fisher, unlike many other critics of this problem, does not seek to push the Supreme Court to intervene and restrain the President. Instead, he places the burden upon Congress. Fisher examines attempts to constrain presidential power, such as the War Powers Act, and illustrates that each has been insufficient and offers proposed changes to improve these checks. An interesting and informative read and we can only hope that someday Congress will again take up its responsibility rather than hide behind the President and then blame him if things go badly.

I am a big fan of Barbara Curtis's writing. As a non-Christian liberal, I often have a lot of trouble even understanding what Christians are trying to say, much less finding areas of common ground. So when I discovered Barbara's blog, Mommylife.net, I was thrilled to find a person espousing different beliefs than mine who I could not only communicate with, but also connect with.

Barbara has lived on both sides of the equation, living in the San Francisco Bay Area for years, and changing from being a liberal activist to a strong conservative with her conversion to Christianity, so she understands a lot of the ways in which liberals think about things. This knowledge makes it easier for her to know how to communicate her Christian and conservative beliefs to liberals.

Christians would like to think that for a liberal like me, reaching out and conversing with Christians about their religious and political beliefs would be easy if the desire was there to do so, but it is not. In the section on communication, Barbara says that, "Most Christians are probably not aware that sometimes the "language" they speak is almost as alien to nonbelievers as Spanish is to English-speakers."

As a non-Christian, I can assure Christians that this is absolutely true. I reached out and tried to speak with a couple of Christians that I know in person, and didn't have much success in finding common ground. Words and phrases like "the good news", covenant, "feel convicted", testimony, "sin nature", and the frequency with which Christians say the names Jesus, God, and Christ, are disconcerting to non-Christians, and Barbara has a whole section listing some of the words that non-Christians may find off-putting or not understand. She also shares some communication strategies that Christians can use to be true to their God without stunting conversation with non-Christians.

Barbara also talks about a lot of politically charged social issues such as abortion and homosexuality. She talks about the liberal belief system that leads us to many of our beliefs and shows some of the most compelling conservative and Christian arguments against those beliefs. She also has a section at the end of each chapter with questions to ask yourself and discuss with others, issues to research or think about more deeply, and things that real people can do to get involved in their community and make a difference on the issues that Christians and conservatives often care about the most.

What I loved most about this book is the way Barbara is able to be clear-eyed and honest about the ways conservatives and Christians need to improve in order to make a convincing stand against these issues. She doesn't just bash the evil liberals like many have made a living doing, she endeavors to provide understanding of both sides, and constantly encourages humility and warns against self-righteousness, so that Christians can make good use of their opportunities for friendship and discussion with those who don't think like them.

I have read all but one of her books and I don't think there is one thing I don't agree with her on. She is a gifted writer as well as a compassionate person. When I think of a TRUE Christian, she definately hits it dead in the center. This is so transparent from her writing. You get to know her. As Christians we are to love everyone! Not beat them up with our words and actions. We all could use more of the love and understanding that she willingly offers in so many of the "hot debates". Thank you Barbara for this one. It has personally brought me to a better place as a person and as a Christian.

In Reaching the Left from the Right, author Barbara Curtis gives new meaning to the phrase, "been there, done that." As a previous I-hate-America hippie activist to a reformed Christian woman who loves the Lord, Curtis opens our eyes to what it means to look at all of God's children with love and acceptance--even when they have different moral or political values than yours.

You know what I enjoyed about this book? Truth. The kind of no-holds-barred truth that hit me right between the eyes and convicted me of my own prejudices towards others, who thought and believed differently than I did. I didn't avoid them because they didn't act or look the way I did. I avoided them because I didn't understand their position, their thoughts, or their beliefs. And because I didn't understand, I never took the steps to get to know them better. My great loss.

But as Christians we're called to action. Curtis lends sage advice stemming from years of experience of living on both sides of a movement on how to bridge the gap between the left and rightmovements. As she describes these groups in her book, the similarities between the two sides is uncanny, "It's justthat members of each group--thinking inside their own established paradigms--have a hard time seeing this about the other side, because the ways of going about it are radically different."

Curtis coaches us to compare what the Lord says in the Bible and the beliefs of others, while sharing ideas on how as Christians we can step outside of our comfort zones and reach out to others who we might normally avoid.

If you want a book that will teach you to compassionately connect with those around you, then I highly recommend Reaching the Left from the Right. Jesus did not come to minister to those who were saved, but to the unsaved. If we are going to do what Christ calls us to do, then we must first learn what others believe so that we have the compassion to meet them where they live.

Armchair Interviews says: An appropriate book for this world today.

A very good work, this book discusses the Red Army officer corps from its inception to its disintegration. The author uses several sources to look at "typical" Soviet officers at different period of the Red Army's existence, including the Purge era, post WWII, etc. Changes in demographics, schooling and political influence are all discussed. First-hand accounts are used whenever possible.

I found it especially interesting that Mr. Reese chose not to perpetuate the idea that "the best and the brightest" were eliminated during the Purge, paving the way for the disaster that the Red Army suffered when Germany attacked. As the author pointed out, bad officers must have also been eliminated, since the Purge seems to have been almost arbitrary.

An excellent book but not a light read.

Reese makes many excellent points and I commend him for producing such a fine piece of literature on the Red Army, and specifically the officer corps. I found only one error on his part so far, he claims that battalion commissars were labeled 'kombats' and battalion commanders 'batkoms' while in fact the opposite holds true. A small mistake but one that immediately caught my attention.

What I give the author a lot of praise for is showing how intertwined the officer corps was with the politics of the nation. This is one of the biggest reasons, that the author argues, which allowed the purges of the Red Army to reach such heights. In fact it is his opinion that without the intermingling of party politics with the Red Army the purges might have never come about. I can agree and disagree with this statement. I agree with the fact that one of the biggest reasons Stalin decided to purge the Red Army was because he had a fear of it since it participated in some of the worst deeds under his government. Many high ranking Generals, and certainly the Marshals, were members of the Bolshevik party, and held various posts in party organizations. Because of this many had allegiances to various factions that had been gotten rid of by Stalin (those who followed Trotsky or Zinoviev for example) and it also clouded their perceptions of what their jobs as high ranking officers should have entailed. Where I disagree with Reese is the fact that without these connections to party politics there is still reason to think some of these commanders could have been convicted of "Bonapartism" if they had any friends in the government, for example, or if they had ever expressed anger or disdain for what the party was doing. It will never be known if Reese is correct in his interpretation of this aspect of the officer corps but it is food for thought.

As previously mentioned the higher ranking officers cared little for those subordinate to them and even less for the average enlisted man. This gap would show itself in the fact that many divisions and other formations were not up to the challenges of the future war. Training was not taken seriously nor given the amount of attention and time it deserved. Drunkenness, abuse of subordinates, and other actions which should have been outlawed were allowed. Reese also makes an interesting case for the fact that while the purges most definitely took some talent out of the Red Army this cannot be claimed for every single person discharged, executed, or sent to a GULag camp. He is also correct in the fact that the army itself had blood on its hands when its own military districts started to discharge officers, since they had permission to do so without Moscow's approval, all they had to do was phone in and state who was discharged. An order was also issued to discharge officers of various nationalities, Finns, Koreans, Poles, etc. As this process began it proved too hard to stop, one order issued by Voroshilov was ignored and it took another, coming from the NKO and NKVD to stop the bloodshed and discharges.

This book is also helpful in the fact that Reese gives numbers for those troops discharged as well as those who were then reinstated. There was an affect on the Red Army officer corps but it was not as serious as many claim. Interestingly enough, there were previous purges within armed forces for years before 1937 in which tens of thousands were discharged for various reasons, many times due to their political orientation. The officer corps was suffering throughout the late 1920's and all of the 1930's as the Red Army expanded. Officers were also in short supply and lacking in their training and education, even worse many were being manhandled into the army which created a caste of officers who had no desire to belong to the army nor did they see a future in it. This book is a must for those interested in the Red Army, it gave me (someone who's been reading on the subject for a decade) a brand new glimpse into the Soviet system and the operations of the Red Army officer class, highly recommended!

Reese writes that the Soviet officer failed to develop an independent identity, impose dicipline in the ranks, and train small units. Reese mantains that the Soviet officer corps lacked a professional sense of identity since Soviet officers had to be members of the Communist party and this involved them in interparty disputes further political commissars with no professional abilities could be generals. Soviet officers also used commissars to try to impose order in the ranks and this made them fail to have any sense of group identity with the ranks. Furthermore, this neglect of enlisted men, made it possible for abuse to occur betweem NCOs and lower ranking members of the Red army. Soviet officers also did not develop small unit tactics that required individual intiative, and this greatly impeded the effectiveness of the Red Army throughout its history. The only weakness of the book is that Reese leaves out the reason why that the Soviet officer corps managed to conduct effective strategic moves, such as the 1944 summer offensive, during the Second World while failed in the area of tactics. I would greatly reccomend this book for anyone has an interest Russian military history.

After seeing Chonda live in Chicago last year, I am convinced that she's our very own comedian angel sent by God to wake and shake us! Chonda's book is a true inspiration, but actually listening to her speak and sing is an even bigger treat. It's hard to find her tapes, both video and audio, but definately worthwhile to search for. I've purchased three extra books and tapes to give as presents. This is truly a MUST Buy for Christian women of all walks of life.

I saw Chonda at a Women of Faith gathering in Cincinnati. She moved 15,000 women to tears of laughter and emotion. If she is ever speaking in your area, go see her! Truly amazing and inspiring.

This is by far one of the best Christian books I have read. I laughed until I cried, and then I cried until I laughed. Chonda uses humor and then the incredible story of her life to make us all realize that God is indeed in control

Beland's study of the history and politics of the U.S. Social Security program provides a solid historical account of the establishment, expansion, and curtailment of old-age insurance. There are, however, flaws. Beland (like many academics) spends too much energy trying to locate his own methodology within existing intellectual fads (a good editor would have cut Chapter 1 by two-thirds its ultimate length). Also, the prose is turgid and repetitive (how many times does Beland really think it is necessary to refer to "credit-claiming strategies"?). And, despite his claims to the contrary, this book really is not for the general reader (any book that uses the term "instauration" should be excised from any general reader's list). Again, it's solid book and should be read by anyone seriously interested in the current Social Security debate. Just keep your expectations within reason.

This book is a must read for those who are interesting how the U.S. Social Security evolved into its present state, and is indispensible for those interested in understanding the context of current political debates (not only in the US, but in other countires - social security debates in other countries have been influenced by the U.S. system, and vice versa). Beland explains the political origins or social security, and it is clear that in order to understand current social security politics, including recent discussion of privatization, you need to start at the beginning.

I bought this book to read for the 70th anniversary of Social Security (Aug. 14), but it came out earlier than expected. It's good to read a social science book that's not full of jargon or boring policy details. The author gets to the point, and he writes clearly--for an academic. The book is really concise, as it covers nearly eight decades of history in less than 200 pages (w/o the notes). It also addresses broad issues, from the role of unions and business interests to Bush's Social Security agenda. But what I really like is that this book is not just about Social Security: it explains how American institutions work, how politicians and think tanks set the policy agenda, and even why the US doesn't have national health insurance! This book didn't change my life but it certainly helped me to understand why (and how) privatization is now such a big deal.

This is essential reading for serious students of intelligence as well as WWII buffs. Dr. Stephan demonstrates in lively fashion the unlikely impact of tactical intelligence and counterintelligence operations on the outcome of WWII. Dr. Stephan puts his prodigious erudition to good use in animating the various penetrations and double agent operations, and depicting the contribution of an effective counterintelligence program to the defeat of the Germans. A first class work of historical documentation.

The author does an excellent job with this book. Descriptions of various Soviet operations, what happened during and the outcomes are all written out and described with details and excellent sources. The reader will see that the myth that all Soviet POW's who were either liberated or escaped back to their lines from encirclements or German POW camps were sent to Gulag labor camps is a lie. After thorough checking by the NKVD the majority, 90% or more, were sent back to their units or used in another form at the front or in the rear, only around 10% were put into Penal battalions and companies or sent to Gulag camps because of various reasons. An excellent section on how the Germans tried to penetrate the Red Army and NKVD by using POW's and others, the sheer volume of the amount of agents the Germans sent through Soviet front lines will give rise to an understanding that the NKVD had to be thorough in their jobs and many of those who did return might in fact have been working for the Germans in one way or another. All in all an excellent piece of literature on the time period and a great addition to our understanding of what went on during this war on the Eastern Front. As a comment to the other reviewer, the Soviets did not need to crack the German 'Enigma' codes, they had spies in top levels of the US and British secret services and through them received all the knowledge they needed about German activities. Sometimes British and US agencies shared information with the USSR and the NKVD or GRU (military intelligence) would then double check that information from their own spies in the respective agencies.

Robert W. Stephan's book explores hitherto ignored,hidden dimension of war on the Eastern Front:Soviet counter-intelligence ops and its impact in shaping the outcome of Great Patriotic War[1941-45]We know from the works of V.E Tarrant,Paul Carrel,Heinz Hohne Soviet penetration of German Armed Forces High Command,highest echelons of Nazi regime.Success of Soviet spynetworks[Red Orchestra]eroded Wehrmact's ability to defeat Red Army;derailed Hitler's plan to conquer Soviet Union.Concurrently GRU,NKGB's penetration of Abwehr,Gestapo,SD helped Soviets to uncover to the fullest extent possible German secret agent network operating in Russia.

German agents caught were turned into double agents.Using them as 'radioplaybacks'Soviets started feeding controlled information which fooled German High Command.Information supposedly coming from authentic sources made Germans misinterpret scope,magnitude,direction of Soviet thrusts.Maskirovka ensured the destruction of German Army Group Centre{Bagration] in summer of 1944.Intially to establish the credibility of information passed on by double agent Stavka with the connivance of Stalin betrayed few Red Army ops.Most important being 'MARS'launched by Marshal Zhukov to eliminate Rzhev salient in Nov 1942 which ended in a fiasco.

Soviet success in deceiving Germans hastened Wehrmacht's defeat on the Eastern Front.If not it would have prolonged hostilities or may have ended in a stalemate.In narrating Soviet counter-espionage ops author draws parallels with what British [XX]committee of MI5 did to dupe Germans.Like the British Soviets molded deception into a decisive weapon.

So far analogy holds good;but no further.Unlike British Soviet covert ops are shrouded in mystery.Why this secrecy even though 60 years have passed since capitulation of Nazi Germany is a conundrum which has continued to baffle experts.For instance the memoirs of top Soviet commanders Zhukov,Shtmenko,Rokkosovsky,Vassilievsky,Chuikov does not say anything about Soviet intelligence triumph.Another intriuging aspect it is not known wheather Soviets had cracked German Enigma codes.But one has to assume that Russians must have had some success if not how could they hope to monitor progress made in deceiving Germans.

This book establishes beyond doubt Bolsheviks were masters in the art of espionage ,counter-espionage,covert operations.I feel circumstances surrounding the birth of Soviet state dictated it to be so.Soviet Union was besieged by foes assailing it from different directions.Defence of revolution demanded Soviets have highly efficent secret service which could foil plots ,machinations of imperialist powers.

So in the secret war that followed German intelligence was outclassed,outwitted,outmanoeuvred.Inthe field of espionage Germans were made to look crass amateurs.Reader will get to know this while perusing chapters related to operations Monastery,Berezino in this book.Operation Barbarossa was colossal blunder ;Germans underestimated strength lay latent Soviet Union.Superior German intelligence would have helped them to uncover that strength.But that was not to be.

Having live in Briar Hill in Youngstown, I found this book facinating. I read it in 5 days, & had a hard time putting it down! Youngstown, Oh has a proud history & has produced many sucessful people. I am passing the book along to all my local friends. Although Youngstown itself is very depressed, the sourounding area, Canfield, Poland, Boardman are equal to the finest comunities in the country. With the "working Class" mentality, many of us grew up with, there is nothing a "Youngstowner" can't accomplish.

What a superb book about a little known but renowned town known as Youngstown, Ohio. The text provides the history of this noble town from its founding to its growth to its impact upon the globe.

Youngstown became the center of the Steel Industry between Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Chicago where it help out building the modern world. It was at one time the largest producer of Steel. The authors explain how the town attracted people from all over the earth. How it became the cradle of middle class values created by the practice of hard work, smart thinking and support of family with the opportunities produced by the establishment of the steel and related businesses.

It also depicts how Youngstown became the border town between New York and Midwest based crime families fighting over turf, gambling and other vices that affluence often attract. At one time, Youngstown was known to be an open town where anyone on the run could be protected if they knew who to pay for sanctuary without judgment of deeds. The money from Youngstown used to bet on local sports to college to pro sports actually contributed to building Las Vegas. The region was only second to gambling behind Las Vegas from 1940 to 1990.

At the same time, the book explains how this great city and region was weaken with the subsequent loss of over 50,000 steel jobs. How it had to experience the loss of such jobs, tax revenues and opportunities. Yet, the town and people persevere in the face of such losses. In the 1950's two families in the name of DiBartolo and Cafaro were the largest builders of Shopping malls in America and based in Youngstown. Today, new businesses actually set up in Youngstown's suburb of Boardman before going national just to test the market place.

What few know is Bruce Springteen wrote the lyrics to "Youngstown" based upon interviews in this book. I highly recommend you take the time to read this exquisite book written by two great authors and about a town and its people known as Youngstown, Ohio. A grand town because of its people and how they influence the world in so many ways explained in volume in this book.

Sherry Lee Linkon and John Russo, Steeltown U.S.A.: Work and Memory in Youngstown (University Press of Kansas, 2003)

You don't really think of Youngstown as a place that would inspire a great amount of social criticism. In fact, if you're like most people, you really don't think of Youngstown much at all. It is a good thing that you are not Sherry Lee Linkon and John Russo, who do think of Youngstown as the kind of place that would inspire a great amount of social criticism. And then they went ahead and wrote Steeltown U.S.A.

It shouldn't surprise you that people writing a book about the real-world effects of deindustrialization on an American city are going to be approaching the subject from a populist viewpoint; what should surprise you is that Linkon and Russo do so in a way that even most fiction writers are incapable of: instead of moralizing at every turn, they sit back and let the story of Youngstown get the message across by itself, realizing that the stark images of the effects of deindustrialization will do all the necessary work. And it does. There's little more that will tell you "deindustrialization is bad, mmmkay?" as the plight of Youngstown from 1977 to the present day.

While it's been thirty years now since the first plant closings in Youngstown, there can be no question, in today's economy of outsourcing, that Steeltown U.S.A. is a timely book--perhaps timelier than it would have been, had it been released at any other time. It is solid, well-written scholarship, a piece of scholarly nonfiction that does its level best to read like its more popular counterpart, and succeeds more often than not. It will definitely get you thinking more, and harder, about Youngstown. One of the twenty-five best books I read in 2006. ****

Charlotte and Karen have woven together a precious look at mother love through the generations and seasons of life. In sharing their own history, these insightful ladies provide encouragement to any woman fortunate enough to be called Mommy.

How many mothers have their own mothers nearby to encourage and assist during the child-rearing years? Not many, and getting fewer all the time.

This gift booklet provides a little of that inter-generational wisdom we all need through its touching anecdotes and warm honesty. Adelsperger and Hayse have done a great job of providing two different points of view while maintaining a consistent voice. The timeline of the book covers four generations, but the reader comes away with a sense of how the real issues--love, family, faith--stay the same through every era. There's no preaching here to scare off the unchurched. Rather, there's a window into how a Christian family views (and "does") motherhood through the generations.

Women of all ages will find something to connect with and learn from in this delightful book. It would be the perfect table favor at a mother-daughter tea.

Warm, pocket and purse size book of family values through four generations. The reader sees that mothers do make a difference in time spent with children. Any time is quality time and setting a good example is part of being a mother. Whether it is showing compassion for others or putting affectionate notes in a child's lunch bag, love is endless and ever-expanding. Though the world may change, prayer is a constant. "Through the Generations" is readable and reinforced with Scripture quotes and anecdotes. Inspirational and family-oriented.

I read this book edited by David Jacobs, Ph.D. expecting good information on the UFO abductions phenomenon from different points of view. I was pleased to find that the book is an excellent source for anyone, such as me, to review data on this subject to be used within the bibliography of a written work on this scientific quest. The material is very straightforward, its bibliography is very good and the notes section at the end of the book is forty pages long with excellent explanations and extensive additional bibliography. Anyone who wants to read solid information on abductions free of sensationalism and with a scientific approach should have this book in his/her library.

I liked reading Professor Jacobs' collection of articles on UFO's and abductions (he of course provides the intro and authors one article himself). As a whole the book exmaines from different angles and points of view the very compelling issues of what is going on with these phenomena and how we can perhaps best approach studying it. Almost all of the chapters are authored by researchers who demonstrate a great deal of knowledge of and insight into the aspect of UFO-logy they discuss.

I would recommend this book only to open-minded readers who have a rather dispassionate interest in the topic. I say this because as one of the chapters I discuss below depicts so well, most people are more concerned with the myth of UFO's rather than the real evidence. I also want to say that the Kirkus review at the top of this page is only too typical of those who want evidence when such "evidence" would never satisfy their preconceived version of reality. Prof. Jacob's compilation to me presents more than enough proof that this issue is real and needs to be seriously addressed by mainstream disciplines.

I will discuss four of the best chapters in "UFO's And Abductions."

One chapter in what to me was a rather ironic argument style shows how among science, law, and military intelligence, science is the *least* qualified to investigate UFO's because the data does not fit into any scientific model, and scientists cannot operate w/o such. Because war and defense necessitate avoiding preconceptions and simply examining the facts dispassionately, military intelligence is best qualified in the author's opinion. In my opinion the author did not go far enough, as I find the evidence that the military got technology from the ET's and gave it to industry very believable (Col. Corso's "The Day After Roswell", also "The Montauk Project" books).

Budd Hopkins' contribution is a thorough rebuttal to the skeptics'

strongly biased attempts to dismiss all abduction accounts as phony. The most salient point he brings out is that many abductees have very clear memories w/o undergoing any hypnosis. He also gives plenty of evidence that hypnosis of abductees does not produce the kind of false memories claimed by debunkers, such as the false memories "remembered" by "victims" of parental abuse.

Psychiatrist John Mack insightfully probes how the abduction phenomenon expands our concepts of reality, particularly the merging of the spirit and material worlds, which are kept separate by the current materialistic worldview. Dr. Mack also feels that the transformations that occur in the lives of abductees are genuine and significant. Of course Dr. Mack is very familiar from personal experience with how the mainstream disciplines react when a researcher attempts to provide evidence that threatens the current belief systems!

The longest and to me the best chapter in this book is called "Lost In The Myths," which is for the most part a brilliant discussion of first the many values of myths, and then how relevant it is to view the UFO phenomenon from the standpoint of these myths. For example, as we know from Joseph Campbell, story myths can be used to resolve some of the bizarre contradictions in life, so that the resolution is assimilated into the unconscious. UFO's in this context unite technology with magic, advanced science with angelic archetypes who will save a world on the brink of apocalypse (it always is, isn't it?!). The author also compares the transformations experienced by UFO abductees with those who have undergone shamanic initiations. Finally, the author rightly calls on science and the public to separate the myths of UFO's from their actuality, to study the evidence w/o the biases.

This book offers a compendium of theses which decently portrays the UFO and alien abduction phenomena.

1) UFOLOGY AND ACADEMIA: THE UFO PHENOMENON AS A SCHOLARLY DISCIPLINE argues for the inclusion of the UFO mystery into the mainstream academia, which should be studying such things, but instead chooses to distance itself from the phenomenon. The debate has been relegated to the tabloid fringe, and respectable science won't go near it. This will need to change if we are ever to get to the bottom of it all.

2) LIMITED ACCESS: SIX NATURAL SCIENTISTS AND THE UFO PHENOMENON is a good primer on six important early ufologists, who laid the groundwork of how to study the phenomenon while government maintained its official position of denial. Some of these men worked for the government as public debunkers, while privately realizing that there is definitely something going on which offers no easy explanations.

3) SCIENCE, LAW, AND WAR: ALTERNATIVE FRAMEWORKS FOR THE UFO EVIDENCE debates which segment of society is most adept at studying the UFO phenomenon. Ultimately, science cannot move forward without tangible proof, which has proven elusive. Science requires data, not eyewitness testimony. The military offers the preferred framework from which to attack the mystery. After all, the objects appear in our skies, seemingly oblivious to our need for an explanation for them. The military must determine if there is a direct or indirect threat to the people it has enlisted to protect, while cloistering itself from public scrutiny.

4) UFO'S, THE MILITARY, AND THE EARLY COLD WAR ERA is a fantastic history of the public and militaristic mindsets of our country beginning with the mystery of the WWII foo fighters and into the Project Blue Book era. It is not surprising that the mysterious objects were first considered to be of Nazi design, and later, of Soviet design using captured Nazi technology. The concept that they were possibly of extraterrestrial origin came later. If the Soviets were showcasing high technology as psychological warfare, then the proper US response was to offer explanations that the objects were either hitherto unknown natural phenomena, or simply weren't there at all. Sounds familiar.

5) THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL HYPOTHESIS IN THE EARLY UFO AGE tells that when Gallup took a poll shortly after the war to gauge the public's opinion on the "flying saucer" phenomenon, it was discovered that most Americans considered only three options for the objects: Soviet design, American design, or hoax. The saucers as machinery of extraterrestrial origin was not even considered. Our government could exclude the American design option, and was left with Soviet or ET design. If they were of Soviet design, then we were facing an empire which was so technologically advanced that it is surprising they didn't whoop us.

6) UFO'S: LOST IN THE MYTHS offers evidence throughout the history of mankind for some sort of archetypical relationship between men and creatures of the spirit world. Whether speaking of gods, angels, devils, incubi, witches, or fairies, men of history have described entities outside of our reality which nonetheless are capable of interfering with our business. Are the Grays the latest manifestation?

7) THE UFO ABDUCTION CONTROVERSY IN THE UNITED STATES is written by David Jacobs. For decades, UFO's were strictly an eyewitness phenomenon. All the data was based on sightings and occasional landing traces, but any accounts of entities were dismissed outright. This changed in the mid-60's when the first accounts of abduction went public. Ufology was split, as the sightings experts distanced themselves from this new implausibility. Jacobs is convinced that the abductions are the main reason that the UFO's are in our skies. The reason for the abductions involves the use of human reproductive facilities to create transgenic beings of alien design. It sounds silly, but there is plenty of data to back up this claim.

8) HYPNOSIS AND THE INVESTIGATION OF UFO ABDUCTION ACCOUNTS is Budd Hopkins' refutation of the main knock against his investigative technique: the tendency toward confabulation between the interviewer and the subject during hypnosis. Everything Hopkins writes is genius and this is no exception.

9) HOW THE ALIEN ABDUCTION PHENOMENON CHALLENGES THE BOUNDARIES OF OUR REALITY is John Mack putting his Harvard brain to good use by intellectualizing the abduction phenomenon much more than the pragmatists Hopkins and Jacobs. Mack senses that we should not be trying to force the "aliens" into our preconceived notion of reality, but should recognize the existence of the aliens as proof that our notion of reality is incomplete.

10) THE UFO EXPERIENCE: A NORMAL CORRELATE OF HUMAN BRAIN FUNCTION presents medical data showing how easy it is to reproduce the "entity perception" by electrically stimulating certain areas of the brain. Electrical interference patterns can be "programmed" and sent through the skull, directly into the brain, which can dissociate the two lobes of the brain to a degree that the person will actually project into reality a second self. Side effects of this brain stimulation include the sensation of floating and odd smells, amongst other things that are par for the course in abduction reports.

I read The Islandman after several visits to Ireland. This narrative or memoir gives readers a rare look at life off the coast of Kerry in the 19th Century. Relatively untouched by English influence, the lives of those living on the Great Blasket Island were different that most of the rest of Ireland.

I was inspired by the book to travel to the Great Blasket Island in July 2007 and was inspired by the courage of those who made their living there throughout the 18th and 19th centuries

Americans have a romantic fixation with Irish culture and little cottages by the sea. (And there's nothing wrong with that.) But the next time you don your imported Aran sweater, hunt up this interesting book to get a first-person account of the Great Blasket Island off the coast of Ireland. The narrator can be as sharp as the cold Atlantic winds, but even if you wouldn't want to take tea with him, you'll admire the detailed portrait he draws of this isolated place lost in time. Just remember, like the island itself, this is not a cozy book, but a bracing one.

A fine book detailing the life of a native of the blasket island group off the southwest coast if Ireland. The author gives a detailed view of life in a remote 19th century Irish speaking culture that remained unchanged from the middle ages to the 2nd world war. Noted for it's poets and storytellers the blaskets remained one of the bastions of the irish language oral tradition.